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‘Spider-Man’ Cancels Wednesday Matinee After Actor Is Injured

An actor playing Spider-Man was injured during a performance of the Broadway musical “Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark” on Monday night. Above, an image from a video taken by a New York Times reader.

4:40 p.m. | Updated

After an actor performing in the Broadway musical “Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark” was injured during a performance Monday night, the show will postpone its scheduled matinee on Wednesday and resume performances on Wednesday night, according to a statement from a spokesman for the production. The actor, Christopher Tierney, was said to be in serious condition at Bellevue Hospital Center on Tuesday. Patrick Healy has more here.

“OSHA, Actors Equity and the New York State Department of Labor have met with the Spider-Man company today to discuss additional safety protocols,” the statement said. “It was agreed that these measures would be enacted immediately.” The statement did not provide details of the new measures, and it was not clear who would take over for Mr. Tierney, a veteran dancer and stunt performers who plays the masked Spider-Man in some of the most complicated technical scenes of the musical. A later statement, from Actors’ Equity, said that it had been determined that the cause of the accident was “human error.”

Theatergoers who attended Monday’s performance of “Spider-Man,” a $65 million musical featuring complicated aerial stunts, said that they saw a performer playing the title hero fall into a pit during the closing minutes of the show, and that some equipment fell into the audience when this occurred. A video of the performance showed a line holding the performer apparently snap.

Mr. Tierney and other actors play Spider-Man throughout the show during various stunts and action sequences.

On Tuesday morning, news media representatives for “Spider-Man” did not immediately reply to an inquiry about the identity of the actor or his status. But the “Spider-Man” actress Natalie Mendoza, who plays the spider-goddess Arachne, wrote on her Twitter feed: “Please pray with me for my friend Chris, my superhero who quietly inspires me everyday with his spirit. A light in my heart went dim tonight.”

Mr. Tierney sustained broken ribs and suffered some internal bleeding as a result of falling from the platform, according to a person familiar with his medical condition, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss private medical information. It was not clear precisely how many feet he fell before landing. Julie Taymor, the musical’s director, visited with the actor in his hospital room on Tuesday. A spokesman for the production said early Tuesday afternoon that he had no details about the cause of the accident or steps that will be taken as a result of it to help insure the safety of the show’s performers.

Safety inspectors with the New York State Department of Labor visited Broadway’s Foxwoods Theater on Tuesday morning to examine equipment that appeared to malfunction at Monday night’s performance and met with the musical’s lead producer, Michael Cohl. “We’ll be talking to the production team, checking the harnesses, cables, and other equipment, and trying to determine what happened, and we’ll have more information after that,” said a department spokesman, Leo Rosales, in a telephone interview on Tuesday morning.

The labor department has signoff authority on productions with public performances, and had approved the show going forward with performances in November. A spokeswoman for Actors’ Equity, the union of theater actors and stage managers, said in a statement on Tuesday: “We were informed shortly after the accident during the performance of Spiderman. We are working in cooperation with the state and city Department of Labor on this situation. We don’t have a further statement at this time.”

Actors’ Equity said later in an updated statement: “Actors’ Equity Association is working with management and the Department of Labor to ensure that performances will not resume until back-up safety measures are in place.”

Steven Tartick, an audience member, said the accident occurred during a scene when Spider-Man is rescuing his love interest, Mary Jane, as she dangles from a rope attached to a bridge.

Mr. Tartick said he saw the actor playing Spider-Man appear to trip and fall from the bridge, into an open pit at the end of the stage.

Mr. Tartick said there was a blackout, and then the house lights in the theater were restored. An announcement made in the theater first said there would be a delay in the performance. The announcement was then updated to say the show was over.

A video taken by a New York Times reader.

Scott Smith and Matthew Smith, brothers who attended Monday’s “Spider-Man” performance, watched the show from the balcony of the Foxwoods Theater. In an interview outside the theater, Matthew Smith said: “It looked like it was supposed to happen. But he fell at a faster pace. It didn’t look right.”

Brian Lynch, an audience member, described the scene at the Foxwoods Theater on his Twitter feed, writing: “Stopped short near end. Someone took nasty fall. Screaming. 911 called. No idea what happened, kicked audience out.” He added: “No joke. No explanation. MJ and Spidey took what seemed to be a planned fall into the stage pit. Then we heard MJ screaming.”

In a telephone interview, Ms. Bord said two ambulances and a fire truck were already waiting outside the theater when most audience members exited. The actor was quickly brought out on a stretcher, wrapped in protective gear and wearing a neck brace. He acknowledged the crowd, which clapped for him before an ambulance took him away. Ms. Bord said this transpired in no more than five or 10 minutes.

John Matthews/onlocationvacations.comA photograph taken by a reader showing a “Spider-Man” actor being transported to an ambulance outside the Foxwoods Theater.

The “Spider-Man” musical has faced several setbacks during its preview period, with one of its actresses suffering a concussion and two actors injured by a sling-shot technique meant to propel them across the stage. On Friday it was announced that “Spider-Man” was delaying its official opening by four weeks to Feb. 7 so that creative changes could be made to the show.

A news media representative for “Spider-Man” said in an e-mail message Monday night: “An actor sustained an injury at tonight’s performance of ‘Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark.’ He fell several feet from a platform approximately seven minutes before the end of the performance, and the show was stopped. All signs were good as he was taken to the hospital for observation. We will have more news shortly.”
Patrick Healy contributed reporting to this post.